Eddie Howe could welcome his injured star player into the squad sooner than expected in a crucial Tyne Wear derby for Newcastle United.
Newcastle must be ‘mentally’ ready to face Sunderland
Preparing for a local derby is never easy, but the 7-2 humiliation they suffered against Barcelona a few days ago is far from inconceivable. The confidence Newcastle gained from the first-leg draw was brutally quashed by the Spanish giants, with the Magpies giving them a brutal reality test at Camp Nou.
Going from there to face Sunderland in the Tyne Wear derby is a daunting task to say the least, but Howe called on his team to be “mentally prepared” at St James’ Park.
“The important thing now is about Sunderland, not what happened. It’s about learning from it and evolving and changing as necessary.
“It’s about making sure we’re mentally and physically ready for the next game and what’s going to be a big game for us and the whole city. So I think this is a really good game to go straight into because we don’t have time to think about anything else.”
Of course, if Newcastle can put the upheaval aside, they should be able to look back on a positive few weeks. In an incredibly difficult run of matches, they defeated both Chelsea and Manchester United and drew at home with Barcelona.
There is plenty of room for optimism ahead of the derby and there should be a feeling of revenge after the defeat at the Stadium of Light earlier this season.
As for the team itself, the Magpies have already been given a number of injured reinforcements. They are heading into Sunday’s matchup with at least one star player potentially returning from injury.
Howe gave talent quadruple to boost Newcastle’s injuries
Ahead of the derby, Howe admitted that Sandro Tonali’s injury against Barcelona was not as serious as initially feared and could allow him to return sooner than expected. The Italian limped off at the Camp Nou and is now ruled out against the Black Cats.
That’s not the only thing that contributes to injury. The Newcastle manager also confirmed that he expects Bruno Guimarães, Fabian Schaal and Lewis Miley to return after the next international break.
Newcastle look to back Howe with monster signings this summer to bring in four new star players
The Magpies could be subject to an overhaul of their squad this summer.
He told reporters: “We will wait and see[Tonali]. The situation when he came off the pitch may not be as bad as first feared. We will see how he did today and make a decision closer to the game.”
”(Miley) will be back after the internationals and hopefully after the break. Unfortunately, it’s the same for Bruno and probably Fab (Schar) as well.
Tonali’s presence will be especially important against Sunderland given that Guimarães is already missing. There’s good reason why he’s reportedly attracted interest from Arsenal recently, and the big stage is awaiting the midfielder once again.
If there’s one way to express his loyalty to the Magpies, it will be by winning the midfield battle and securing revenge against Sunderland this weekend.
